System and method for analyzing and identifying flaws in a manufactured part

ABSTRACT

A system and method for identifying flaws in a part being inspected includes generating a 3-d representation of the part, the 3-d representation comprising 3-d spatial coordinates corresponding to different locations on the part, and registering the 3-d spatial coordinates with corresponding locations of a part being inspected. An image of the part being inspected is generated, and a flaw in the part being inspected is identified from the generated image. A location of the flaw is correlated to a corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate, and a device is controlled to perform an operation on the part being inspected at the flaw location using information of the corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to manufacturing and inspectionsystems and, more particularly, to a system and method for analyzing andidentifying flaws or defects in manufactured parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques and procedures formanufactured parts are moving towards a completely digitalinfrastructure in data acquisition, image inspection, review andarchiving. The main purpose of these inspections is to identify flaws ordefects in the part. The inspection provides an opportunity to make adecision whether to accept, repair, rework, or discard the part based onthe number and severity of the flaws detected. The sensitivity anddynamic range of digital detectors have allowed the detection andlocalization of flaws that have previously been undetectable in filmradiographs. The fast throughput of multi-image inspections andprecision placement of the source and detector in industrial inspectionshave allowed the localization of multiple flaws at a precision of 10microns in the transverse direction on the surface of the part.

Conventional flaw detection systems are incapable of translating a flawcoordinate as identified on a radiograph to a real physical part in anautomated, precise, and reproducible manner. Rather, such systemsrequire manual superposition of a 2-d visual image with the 3-d part,which is very susceptible to error as it relies completely on operatorjudgment. This effect is exacerbated in the case of complex parts thatare inspected multiple times from different points of reference.

It would be desirable to be able to automate the translation of thelocalized indication on the digital image to the physical part and carryout this operation in a completely digital framework which unifies thedesign, manufacture, inspection, service, and rework phases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, in one aspect of the invention, a system and method foridentifying flaws in a part being inspected includes generating a 3-drepresentation of the part, the 3-d representation comprising 3-dspatial coordinates corresponding to different locations on the part,and registering the 3-d spatial coordinates with corresponding locationsof a part being inspected. An image of the part being inspected isgenerated, and a flaw in the part being inspected is identified from thegenerated image. A location of the flaw is correlated to a corresponding3-d spatial coordinate, and a device is controlled to perform anoperation on the part being inspected at the flaw location usinginformation of the corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate.

Further features, aspects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodimentsthat follows, when considered together with the accompanying figures ofdrawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an image forming apparatus consistentwith the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for analyzing and identifyingflaws on a manufactured part consistent with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a coordinate translation process consistentwith the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a collision avoidance process consistentwith the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automated part analysis systemconsistent with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the systemincludes a system control unit 10, a detector control unit 20, and anoperation control unit 30. A display 15 is coupled to the system controlunit 10. A detector 25 and a source 30 are coupled to the detectorcontrol unit 20. An operation tool 45 is coupled to the operationcontrol unit 50. The system also includes a platform 35 supporting apart 40.

The system control unit 10 can be implemented as a workstation, such asa PC or a server. The system control unit 10 preferably includes a CPU,a main memory, a ROM, a storage device and a communication interface allcoupled together via a bus. The CPU may be implemented as a singlemicroprocessor or as multiple processors for a multi-processing system.The main memory is preferably implemented with a RAM and a smaller-sizedcache. The ROM is a non-volatile storage, and may be implemented, forexample, as an EPROM or NVRAM. The storage device can be a hard diskdrive or any other type of non-volatile, writable storage.

The communication interface for the system control unit 10 provides atwo-way data communication coupling to the detector control unit 20, theplatform 35 and the operation control unit 50. These elements can becoupled directly to the system control unit 10, either through a directwire connection or a wireless link, or indirectly, such as though aserver. In any such implementation, the communication interface sendsand receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals, which carrydigital data streams representing different types of information, to andfrom the coupled elements.

The detector control unit 20 can include a workstation, implemented inthe same manner system control unit 10. The detector control unit 20 mayalso include a microcontroller. The detector control unit 20 controlsthe positioning and operation of the detector 25 and the source 30. Thesignals for controlling the positioning and operation of the detector 25and source 30 can be provided through direction by a user at thedetector control unit 20 or via signals sent from the system controlunit 10.

Initially, the part 40 is centered on the platform 35 at a registeredlocation, or equivalently a registered position or registeredcoordinates, for a particular rotational position and axial height. Thepart 40 is placed in such a manner that the 3-d spatial coordinates ofthe part model are mapped to the corresponding locations of the part 40being inspected including the mapping of the rotational orientation. Thepositioning can be done, for example, by aligning a fiducial mark on thepart 40 with a reference mark on the platform 35. It is also possible tohave the part 40 register itself with a laser scanning a fiducial markon the part 40 and automatically rotating and translating the model inorder to align the part 40 being inspected with the 3-d model. Thispositioning allows the part 40 to be removed and replaced in theidentical orientation for subsequent processing, and provides amechanism to have a definite correlation between the part model,described below, and the part 40 being inspected. The mapping of thepart model in the coordinate system of the inspection and analysissystem allows a data fusion between a digital model of the part 40 andthe digital image data generated by the detector 25 and source 30 of theactual part 40. This allows a streamlining of the inspection, analysis,annotation, and rework processes.

The detector 25 and source 30 are implemented to generate twodimensional (2-d) images of the part 40. The detector 25 and source 30can be configured to generate, for example, X-ray images, ultrasoundimages, eddy current images, or infrared images. Although shown asseparate elements, the detector 25 and source 30 can be implemented as asingle element, depending upon the type of imaging to be performed.

Before an image is generated by the detector 25 and source 30, thedetector control unit 20 positions them to generate an image of the part40 from a particular vantage point. The positioning can be done throughinput signals to the detector control unit 20 identifying where toposition the detector 25 and the source 30. Alternatively, the detector25 and source 30 can be positioned manually. When the detector 25 andsource 30 are in a designated position, an image is generated of thepart 40, and the 2-d digital data representing the image is provided tothe system control unit 10 via the detector control unit 20. In additionto providing the image data, the detector control unit 20 can providepositional data to the system control unit 10 identifying the positionof the detector 25 and source 30 when the image was generated. Thesystem control unit 10 can display the generated image on the display15. The display 15 can be implemented, for example, as a CRT, plasma orTFT monitor.

In addition to positioning the detector 25 and source 30 to generate animage of the part 40, the platform 35 can also be adjusted to change theposition of the part 40 relative to the detector 25 and source 30. Thepositional control of the platform 35 can be controlled by signalsprovided from the system control unit 10, or the platform 35 can bepositioned manually. The platform 35 can move the part 40 in a number ofdifferent ways including, for example, rotating the part 40 around acentral axis of the platform 35 or moving the part 40 along a verticalaxis, i.e., up or down. Like the detector 25 and source 30, positionalinformation of the platform 35 can be provided to the system controlunit 10. Between the positional information of the detector 25, thesource 30, and the platform 35, the system control unit 10 hassufficient data to determine the exact orientation of the part 40 in thegenerated image.

With the image of the part 40 displayed on the display 15, a user cananalyze and inspect the image to determine if there are any flaws orfeatures of interest in the portion of the part 40 shown in the image. Aflaw can be, for example, an incomplete weld, a lack of fusion in aweld, an inclusion, a void, a corroded area, a crack, or a rivet, boltor other component that may compromise the structural integrity orstrength of the part 40. The flaws depend, in part, on the type of part40. The part 40 can be any of a variety of different elements of adevice or machine. For example, the part 40 can be tubs or cylindersfrom a jet engine, windmill blades, castings, forging circuit boards, orany other element for which images generated by the detector 25 canfacilitate the identification of flaws that need to be documented,checked and/or corrected.

If the user identifies a flaw in the part 40, the user can make anindication of the location of the flaw directly on the display 15, suchas with a pointing device or other location selection mechanism thatenables the user to identify the exact location of the flaw in theimage. The location of the flaw in the image corresponds to a pixelcoordinate that can be translated to the actual location on the part 40from which the image was generated. This ability to translate the pixelcoordinate to the actual location of the flaw on the part 40 enables theuser to have an operation performed on the part 40 at the location ofthe flaw.

Depending upon the type of flaw, a user can direct an operation to beperformed on the part 40. The operation can be, for example, marking thelocation of the flaw on the part, repairing the flaw, painting the flaw,grinding the flaw or other function that may be performed based on theability to locate the flaw accurately and/or in an automated manner.

The operation is performed by the operation tool 45 under the control ofthe operation control unit 50. The operation control unit 50 can includea workstation, implemented in the same manner system control unit 10,and may also include a microcontroller. The operation control unit 50,in response to signals from the system control unit 10, controls theoperation tool 45 to perform an operation on the part 40 at the locationof the flaw. The operation tool 45 can have various changeableconfigurations depending upon the type of operation to be performed. Forexample, the operation tool 45 can have a marking tool, a paint tool, agrinding tool, a repair tool or some other tool portion for performingthe particular operation. Further, based on the positional informationof the part 40 on the platform 35 and the pixel coordinate identified bythe user as the location of the flaw, the operation control unit 50 iscapable of accurately directing the operation tool 45 to the location ofthe flaw on the part 40 and perform the operation at the flaw location.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for analyzing and identifyingflaws on a manufactured part consistent with the present invention. Theprocess of FIG. 2 will be explained in conjunction with the automatedpart analysis system of FIG. 1. It should be understood by one skilledin the art that the configuration and implementation of the system ofFIG. 1 is exemplary only for performing the process of FIG. 2. It shouldfurther be understood that other system configurations andimplementations are also possible for performing the process of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, a user first creates a CAD image of a part 40 beingmanufactured (step 202). The CAD image can be created using any numberof available CAD applications that are capable of accuratelyrepresenting the part 40. It is also possible to use a drawingapplication have similar or equivalent capabilities as a CADapplication. The drawing application may be implemented on the systemcontrol unit or at a workstation or PC at which a user can prepare thedrawing. As described above, the part 40 can be, for example tubs orcylinders from a jet engine, windmill blades, castings, circuit boards,or any other element for which images generated by the detector 25 canfacilitate the identification of flaws that need to be documented and/orcorrected. To prepare a complete representation of the part 40, the CADor drawing application may include multiple drawings or images fromvarious vantage points.

The CAD image is then transformed into a three-dimensional (3-d)representation of the part 40 (step 204). The 3-d representation of thepart 40 includes a series of 3-d spatial coordinates corresponding todifferent locations of the part 40, including the exposed surface of thepart 40. The CAD application itself preferably includes a transformationfunction for transforming the CAD image into the 3-d representation. Forexample, the CAD application can transform the CAD image into an STLformat, a well-known 3-d format. The transformation to the 3-drepresentation is preferably done to a resolution consistent with adesired scale for locating flaws on the part 40. Other 3-d formats, inaddition to STL, are also possible.

The 3-d representation comprising the corresponding 3-d spatialcoordinates of the part 40 can be stored in a memory, such as a harddisk drive or other non-volatile type memory for future reference. Thememory can be implemented in the system control part 10 or beimplemented in a location accessible to the system control part 10. The3-d representation coordinates are set to match part registrationcoordinates on the platform 35 so that the 3-d spatial coordinates ofthe 3-d representation match corresponding locations of the actual part40.

With the 3-d representation of the part 40 generated, stored, andregistered to the location of the part 40 being inspected, a 2-d digitalimage is generated of the part 40 being inspected (step 206). Togenerate the 2-d digital image, the user can control the detectorcontrol unit 20 and platform 35 with the system control unit 10 to placethe part 40, the detector 25 and the source 30 to be in a particularposition for generating the 2-d digital image at a particularorientation. More specifically, the user can enter instructions at thesystem control unit 10 for generating an image of a particularorientation of the part 40, which are interpreted by the detectorcontrol unit 20 and platform 35 to position the detector 25, the source30 and the part 40 properly. It is also possible for the user toposition these components manually.

More than one image can be generated, for example, to show variousorientations and views of the part 40. For the purposes of the followingdescription, the analysis of only one 2-d image will be described. Itshould be understood, however, that the process for analyzing andapplying the one 2-d image is applicable to each 2-d image of the part40 that is generated. As described above, the 2-d images can be, forexample, X-ray images, ultrasound images, eddy current images, orinfrared images.

The 2-d image of the part 40, as well as position information sufficientto determine the orientation and portion of the part 40 in the image, isprovided to the system control unit 10, which displays the image on thedisplay 15 (step 208). The user can inspect and analyze the displayedimage to identify any flaws in the part 40 (step 210). To set thelocation of an identified flaw, a user can move a pointer, cursor oricon with a pointing device to the flaw location and click on thatlocation to mark it as a flaw. It is also possible for the display 15 tobe responsive to touches, like a touch screen, where the user uses atouch element, such as used for a PDA, to mark the location of the flaw.The flaw location corresponds to a particular pixel coordinate of theimage. This pixel coordinate can be used to identify the specificphysical location of the flaw on the part 40.

In addition to marking the location of the flaw on the part 40, the usercan identify a particular operation to perform at the flaw location(step 212). For example, the user can elect to have the operation tool45 mark the flaw location on the part 40, paint over the flaw location,perform a grinding operation over the flaw location, repair the flaw orsome other operation. The particular operation chosen may depend uponthe type of flaw, its severity, the actual location of the flaw and thecapabilities of the operation tool. The user can select which operationto perform, for example, form a menu of possible operation shown on thedisplay 15.

To perform the operation at the flaw location on the part 40, atransformation is done to identify the flaw location identified on theimage to a 3-d spatial coordinate corresponding with the actual physicallocation on the part 40 (step 214). The transformation can includemaking a series of rotations and translations from the flaw locationidentified on the image to the 3-d spatial coordinate corresponding withthe actual physical location on the part 40. The transformation can beperformed by the system control unit 10. For example, the system controlunit 10 can include a processing unit configured to translate theidentified flaw location into the actual physical location on the part40 based on the corresponding pixel coordinate, the positionalinformation of the detector 25, the sensor 30 and the part 40, and the3-d representation of the part 40 created separately from the imaging ofthe actual part 40.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a coordinate translation process consistentwith the present invention. The process of FIG. 3 provides furtherdetail regarding how the identified flaw location is translated into theactual physical location of the flaw on the part 40. As shown in FIG. 3,the user first selects the flaw location on the selected image (step302). The selection of the flaw location is done in accordance with step210 described above.

In response to the selection of the flaw location, a pixel coordinate isidentified (step 304). The flaw location corresponds to a particularpixel coordinate of the image. This pixel coordinate can be used toidentify the specific physical location of the flaw on the part 40. Thepixel coordinate can be represented as a row and column value of aparticular pixel in the image.

The identified pixel coordinate is then translated into a correspondingdetector coordinate (step 306). The detector coordinate corresponds to aparticular location on the detector 25. The detector coordinate can berepresented as a particular location on the detector 25 relative to thecenter of the detector 25. For example, the detector 25 can be definedto be in a global Y-Z plane, and the center of the detector 25 can bedefined as the origin of the Y-Z plane, the X-direction being a normalextending from the origin of the detector 25. In this definition, thedetector coordinate corresponds to a particular Y-Z coordinate in theY-Z plane. The Y-Z coordinate can be measured as a distance, such as ininches, away from the origin rather than as a pixel.

A 3-d spatial coordinate of the part 40 can be determined from thedetector coordinate (step 308). The 3-d spatial coordinate of the part40 corresponds to the location of the flaw on the actual part 40 that isunder inspection. Using the detector coordinate, the 3-d spatialcoordinate can be determined from the position of the detector 25, theposition of the source 30, the position of the part 40 when it wasimaged by the detector 25, and the 3-d representation of the part 40developed from the CAD representation of the part 40. In addition tousing the positional information and 3-d representation, the part 40 andthe 3-d representation may include identifiable markings to help alignthe 3-d representation with the part 40 and ensure that the determined3-d spatial coordinate corresponds more precisely to the location of theflaw on the part 40. The coordinate of the flaw on the actual part 40lies along the line adjoining the pixel of the detector 25 that had beenmarked and the source 30. This line corresponds to a line of sightvector, described in more detail below.

Returning to FIG. 3, having determined the 3-d spatial coordinatecorresponding to the particular location of the flaw on the part 40, theoperation tool 45 is controlled to perform the identified operation atthe location of the flaw on the part 40 (step 216). The system controlunit 10 signals the operation control unit 50 with informationidentifying the operation to perform and the 3-d spatial coordinate. Inresponse to the signals, the operation control unit 45 performs theidentified operation under the control of the operation control unit 50at the actual location of the flaw on the part 40. As described above,the operation can be, for example, to place an identifiable mark at theflaw location, to repair the flaw, to paint over the flaw, to grind it,or some other operation that can be performed on the part 40 consistentwith the capabilities of the operation tool 45.

Depending on the shape of the part 40, the operation tool 45 may have toadjust the manner in which it approaches the part 40 to perform theoperation at the flaw location. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a collisionavoidance process consistent with the present invention. The collisionavoidance process is an iterative procedure for finding a safe path forthe operation tool 45 to approach the surface of the part 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, an intersection point is first determined (step402). The intersection point corresponds to the 3-d spatial coordinatedetermined to be the actual location of the flaw on the part 40. This3-d spatial coordinate is determined in accordance with the process ofFIG. 2. Based on the intersection point, an approach vector is set (step404). The approach vector can initially be set to correspond to anyvector on the surface. For example, it can be set to the surface normalat the intersection point. This initial approach vector serves as afirst attempt to identify a vector for the operation tool 45 to approachthe flaw location of the part 40 without hitting or colliding with someother portion of the part 40.

After the initial approach vector is set, a check is made to determineif there are any 3-d spatial coordinates of the part 40 within aclearance region (step 406). The clearance region corresponds to aminimum amount of space around the intersection normal that is neededfor the operation tool 45 to reach the flaw location without beingimpeded by another portion of the part 40. The clearance region isspecified as a 3-d volume of any arbitrary shape, such as a cylinder.The volume is constructed and a search for any 3-d spatial coordinatesfrom the part 40 in this volume is carried out. The size of the 3-dvolume, such as the cylinder, corresponds to the size of the portion ofthe operation tool 45 that is to be operated adjacent to the flawlocation.

After searching in the clearance region, a determination is made as towhether or not one of the 3-d spatial coordinates of the part 40 ispresent in the clearance region (step 408). If none are present, thenthe current setting for the approach vector is accepted (step 412). Theaccepted approach vector can then be used to maneuver the operation tool45 to the flaw location and perform the appropriate operation.

However, if there are one or more 3-d spatial coordinates of the part 40in the clearance region, the approach vector is adjusted (step 410).Each 3-d spatial coordinate present in the clearance region correspondsto a trouble point that may cause a collision with the operation tool 45as it approaches the flaw location. The orientation in the polar andazimuthal directions of the trouble points are calculated and stored forfuture use. As a first attempt to adjust the approach vector, a line ofsight vector is determined. The line of site vector corresponds to aclear linear path between the detector 25 and the intersection point onthe surface of the part 40. Such a line of site vector typically avoidsthe points that may be causing the trouble because, for radiography andinfrared purposes, the exposure is set up to minimize the amount ofmaterial between the source 30, the detector 25, and the region ofinterest in the image. After adjusting the approach vector to correspondto the line of sight vector, steps 406 and 408 are performed again todetermine if there are any part coordinates in the clearance region,which is recalculated in related to the line of sight vector. If nocollision points are found, then the line of sight vector is accepted asa safe approach for the operation tool 45.

If part coordinates are found in the clearance region using the line ofsight vector as the approach vector, then the approach vector isadjusted again. First, an angular orientation for each coordinate in theclearance region is calculated with respect to the intersection point,either around the initial surface normal or the line of sight vector.The angular orientation is specified by a polar (θ) and azimuthal angle(θ). An analysis is made of the azimuthal distribution of all of thecoordinates falling within the clearance region. An angle that mostclosely corresponds to the complement of the azimuthal angle (φ), whichis the azimuthal angle (φ) rotated by 180 degrees in azimuth withrespect to the coordinates that may cause the collision, is chosen. Theapproach vector (i.e., the surface normal or line of sight vector) isrotated by a small angle, such as 20 degrees, in the polar (φ)direction, and then in the azimuthal direction to the coordinates thatfell within the clearance region. Having rotated the approach vector,steps 406 and 408 are repeated with the clearance region recalculated inaccordance with the rotated approach vector. If there are no partcoordinates in the clearance region, then the rotated approach vector isaccepted. If there are still part coordinates present, attempts can bemade to adjust the approach vector by varying one or both of the polarand azimuthal angles until no part coordinates are present in theclearance region. If, ultimately, no safe approach can be determined,then an error is reported to the user.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light in theabove teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principlesof the invention and as practical application to enable one skilled inthe art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications are suited to the particular use contemplated. It isintended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claimsappended hereto and their equivalents.

1. A method for identifying flaws in a part being inspected, comprising:generating a 3-d representation of the part, the 3-d representationcomprising 3-d spatial coordinates corresponding to different locationson the part; registering the 3-d spatial coordinates with correspondinglocations of the part being inspected; generating an image of the partbeing inspected; identifying a flaw in the part being inspected from thegenerated image; correlating a location of the flaw in the part beinginspected to a corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate; controlling adevice to perform an operation on the part being inspected at the flawlocation using information of the corresponding 3-d spatial coordinates;identifying an approach vector that enables the device to contact andperform the operation on the part being inspected at the flaw locationwithout obstruction from a portion of the part being inspected; andapplying the approach vector to move the device to the flaw locationwithout being obstructed by a portion of the part being inspected.
 2. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising: displaying thegenerated image on a display device; and receiving an indication of thelocation of the flaw in response to an identified location on thedisplay device.
 3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:identifying a pixel location based on the identified location on thedisplay device; and determining the location of the flaw in thegenerated image based on the identified pixel location.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the image is generated by one of X-rayimaging, ultrasound imaging, eddy current imaging, and infrared imaging.5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving anindication of which operation the device is to perform on the part beinginspected , wherein the operation performed by the device on the partbeing inspected corresponds to the received indication.
 6. A methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the operation is one of a marking and arepair.
 7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: creating aCAD representation of the part; and transforming the CAD representationof the part to generate the 3-d representation of the part.
 8. A methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the 3-d representation of the part is inan STL format.
 9. A method for identifying flaws in a part beinginspected, the method comprising; generating a 3-d representation of thepart, the 3-d representation comprising 3-d spatial coordinatescorresponding to different locations on the part; registering the 3-dspatial coordinates with corresponding locations of the part beinginspected; generating an image of the part being inspected; identifyinga flaw in the part being inspected from the generated image; correlatinga location of the flaw to a corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate;controlling a device to perform an operation on the part being inspectedat the flaw location using information of the corresponding 3-d spatialcoordinate; identifying an approach vector that enables the device tocontact and perform the operation on the part being inspected at theflaw location without obstruction from a portion of the part beinginspected; and applying the approach vector to move the device to theflaw location without being obstructed by a portion of the part beinginspected, wherein the identifying further includes: setting an initialapproach vector for the device to contact and perform the operation onthe part being inspected; determining whether any surface point of thepart being inspected is present in a clearance region adjacent to theinitial approach vector; and accepting the initial approach vector asthe approach vector for moving the device to the part being inspected ifno surface point is present in the clearance region.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the initial approach vector corresponds toa surface normal from the flaw location.
 11. A method according to claim9, wherein the identifying further includes; adjusting the initialapproach vector if at least one surface point is present in theclearance region; determining whether any surface point of the partbeing inspected is present in a clearance region adjacent to theadjusted approach vector; and accepting the adjusted approach vector asthe approach vector for moving the device to the part being inspected ifno surface point is present in the clearance region.
 12. A methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the adjusted approach vector correspondsto a vector providing a clear line of sight between the flaw locationand an imaging device for generating the image of the part beinginspected.
 13. A part analysis system for identifying flaws in a partbeing inspected, comprising: a storage unit that stores a 3-drepresentation of the part, the 3-d representation comprising 3-dspatial coordinates corresponding to different locations on the part; animaging device that generates an image of the part being inspected; asystem control unit coupled to the imaging device and the storage unit,the system control unit including a processor and a memory comprising aplurality of instructions executed by the processor, the plurality ofinstructions configured to register the 3-d spatial coordinates withcorresponding locations of the part being inspected, receive thegenerated image from the imaging device, receive an indicationidentifying a flaw in the part being inspected, and correlate a locationof the flaw to a corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate in the 3-drepresentation of the part; an operation tool coupled to the systemcontrol unit that performs an operation on the part being inspected atthe flaw location based on the corresponding 3-d spatial coordinatecorrelated by the system control unit, wherein the memory of the systemcontrol unit further comprises instructions configured to: identify anapproach vector that enables the device to contact and perform theoperation on the part being inspected at the flaw location withoutobstruction from a portion of the part being inspected; and apply theapproach vector to move the device to the flaw location without beingobstructed by a portion of the part being inspected.
 14. A part analysissystem according to claim 13, further comprising: a display device thatdisplays the generated image; and a flaw identification unit thatidentifies a location of the flaw on the display device in response to auser input.
 15. A part analysis system according to claim 14, whereinthe memory of the system control unit further comprises instructionsconfigured to identify a pixel location based on the identified locationon the display device and determine the location of the flaw in thegenerated image based on the identified pixel location.
 16. A partanalysis system according to claim 13, wherein the imaging device isconfigured to generate one of an X-ray image, an ultrasound image, aneddy current image, and an infrared image.
 17. A part analysis systemaccording to claim 13, wherein the memory of the system control unitfurther comprises an instruction configured to receive an indication ofwhich operation the operation tool is to perform on the part beinginspected, wherein the operation performed by the operation tool on thepart being inspected corresponds to the received indication.
 18. A partanalysis system according to claim 17, wherein the operation is one of amarking and a repair.
 19. A part analysis system according to claim 13,further comprising: a drawing unit configured to creating a CADrepresentation of the part, and transform the CAD representation of thepart to generate the 3-d representation of the part.
 20. A part analysissystem according to claim 19, wherein the 3-d representation of the partis in an STL format.
 21. A part analysis system for identifying flaws ina part being inspected, comprising: a storage unit that stores a 3-drepresentation of the part, the 3-d representation comprising 3-dspatial coordinates corresponding to different locations on the part; animaging device that generates an image of the part being inspected; asystem control unit coupled to the imaging device and the storage unit,the system control unit including a processor and a memory comprising aplurality of instructions executed by the processor, the plurality ofinstructions configured to register the 3-d spatial coordinates withcorresponding locations of the part being inspected, receive thegenerated image from the imaging device, receive an indicationidentifying a flaw in the part being inspected, and correlate a locationof the flaw to a corresponding 3-d spatial coordinate in the 3-drepresentation of the part; and an operation tool coupled to the systemcontrol unit that performs an operation on the part being inspected atthe flaw location based on the corresponding 3-d spatial coordinatecorrelated by the system control unit, wherein the memory of the systemcontrol unit further comprises instructions configured to: identify anapproach vector that enables the device to contact and perform theoperation on the part being inspected at the flaw location withoutobstruction from a portion of the part being inspected; apply theapproach vector to move the device to the flaw location without beingobstructed by a portion of the part being inspected; set an initialapproach vector for the device to contact and perform the operation onthe part being inspected; determine whether any surface point of thepart being inspected is present in a clearance region adjacent to theinitial approach vector; and accept the initial approach vector as theapproach vector for moving the device to the part being inspected if nosurface point is present in the clearance region.
 22. A part analysissystem according to claim 21, wherein the initial approach vectorcorresponds to a surface normal from the flaw location.
 23. A partanalysis system according to claim 21, wherein the memory of the systemcontrol unit further comprises instructions configured to: adjusting theinitial approach vector if at least one surface point is present in theclearance region; determining whether any surface point of the partbeing inspected is present in a clearance region adjacent to theadjusted approach vector; and accepting the adjusted approach vector asthe approach vector for moving the device to the part being inspected ifno surface point is present in the clearance region.
 24. A part analysissystem according to claim 23, wherein the adjusted approach vectorcorresponds to a vector providing a clear line of sight between the flawlocation and the imaging device.